2022, which some might call the post-COVID year as the sports world returned to “normal”, was a year of firsts for Yukon athletes and events. The Star covered big changes with the Yukon Quest, a record-setting Yukon River Quest, unparalleled success at the Canada Summer Games, a first-ever FIS event at Mount Sima and numerous other first-time accomplishments for Yukon athletes.

It must be stated that the biggest Yukon sports story was the cancellation of the 2027 Canada Winter Games bid, but that was also one of the top 10 news stories of the year (see p. 6), so we’ll leave that one out.

Continuing with the “firsts” theme, Honourable Mention also goes to Callum Weir, who looks like a lock for Canada’s futsal team that will be competing for a spot in the World Cup in 2024.

Speaking of futsal, Team Yukon finished a best-ever fourth at the Canadian Champs in Quebec in April. Joe Hanson became the first-ever Yukoner to sign a pro contract. Hanson signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC2 team.

Jessie Gladish of Dawson won the 300-mile Yukon Ultra in early February on her fat bike. Kevin Leahy of Ireland, on foot, finished about two hours behind her.

The Terry Miller rink swept their way to the first-ever Yukon win over a provincial team (Quebec, who were undefeated at the time and eventually won the title) at the Canadian Mixed Curling Champs, and a dominant one at that, winning 8-0.

Yukon cross country skiers Derek Deuling and Sasha Masson had a very successful World Junior Championships, their first, both achieving individual top-20 results. Masson was also part of the boys’ relay team that captured fourth, Canada’s second-best result ever at the Junior Champs.

And of course, at the first-ever FIS race at Mount Sima, the University of Alaska Anchorage swept the podiums in the men’s and women’s overall event. The team featured an international cast, including, Canada, the US, Norway, and New Zealand.

Thomas Gishler also became the first Whitehorse Glacier Bear to compete in a FINA World Cup event in Toronto in October.

The list of 2022 Yukon accomplishments in sport could go on for a long time. Now on to the Top-10 list:

1) Yukon Quest Split: Yukon Quest Alaska ends partnership with Yukon partners

The Yukon Quest International Ltd. ended its partnership with Yukon Quest International Association Canada as of May 4. As a result, there will be no 1,000 mile race in 2023.

The main bone of contention seemed to be the amount of mandatory rest time. The Canadian side was proposing 120 hours or five days; Alaska was demanding 50 hours rest.

In a press release, the Alaskans stated that the two organizations were “unable to agree on significant proposed rule changes applicable to the race beginning in 2023.”

However, the Yukon Board stated that it “categorically disagrees with that assessment of the situation.”

The American side is now running the YQA-550, 300 and 80 mile races.

The Canadian side is running the YQ450, 250 and 100 mile races.

2) Several records set during 2022 Yukon River Quest

High water levels definitely helped speed paddlers along in a year when 10 records, including a course record, were set in the 2022 Yukon River Quest. Eric Braul, Robert Spinks, Mike De Abreu and Sebastien Courville paddled their four-man canoe to the finish of the 715 kilometre race from Whitehorse to Dawson in 39 hours, eight minutes and 12 seconds.

“It’s impressive,” said race director Mia Lee when the team, Something Else Entirely, came in nearly an hour ahead of the next finisher. “That’s gonna be a hard one to beat for a long time.”

In the Men’s Stand-Up Paddleboard (SUP), Lincoln Dews finished in a record time of 47:46:32.

Gaetan Plourde captured the Men’s Solo Canoe record in 47:59:34.

In the Women’s Tandem Canoe, Love of Paddling (Margo Millette, Anjeanette LeMay) set a record in 47:43:24.

The Men’s Tandem Kayak record fell to https://www.tyreorder.com Elite Team (Indrek Kermon, Andres Kaju) of Estonia in 40:05:43.

The Women’s Tandem Kayak record was claimed by Huum Sauna (Linda Tetsmann, Anette Baum) of Estonia in 43:44:39.

The Women’s Four-Person Canoe record was set by Every Child Matters (Pauline and Alice Frost, Heather McBurney, Monica Johnson) in 50:23:1.

Delta Heat (Kendall McDonald, Nichole McDonald, Brandon Johnston, Mackenzie McDonald) set the Mixed four-person canoe record in 43:17:01.

Yukoned Me Into It (Esther Wheeler) won the Women’s Solo Canoe in a record 51:31:45.

In the Half Quest, Eddyline (Kalin Pallett, Brian Groves) set the course record in Men’s Tandem Canoe in 24:38:54.

3) Canada Summer Games 2022: Men’s Soccer team achieves highest-ever finish

The Yukon men’s soccer team achieved multiple firsts at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games in August. They opened with a first-ever victory against a provincial opponent, Nova Scotia, 3-0 and closed off the tournament with a 3-0 triumph over Manitoba to capture seventh place overall, their best finish ever at the Games. After the Nova Scotia game, which put Yukon in first place in their pool, Technical Director Sean Fleming said “the kids played really well. All credit to them. They really have adjusted and adapted to things here and it’s playing in the heat and everything and it was a very good performance.”

Following the Games, All-Star Goalkeeper Callum Weir said “We knew what we were capable of, so it wasn’t a big shock to us all, but it was lovely to actually get the results and show the rest of the country that Yukon’s a footballing territory … so that was absolutely fantastic.”

The Yukon’s indoor volleyball teams had a good run. The men recorded victories over P.E.I. and Nunavut to finish second in the preliminary round, then downed Nunavut again in the Consolation round to finish 11th overall. The women finished strong, beating Nunavut in the Consolation round before downing N.W.T. in their final game to also finish 11th.

In men’s basketball, Yukon beat N.W.T for an 11th-place finish.

Team Yukon swimmers Tuja Dreyer and Thomas Gishler had some strong performances at the Games. Dreyer made it into three B Finals. Gishler had three top-10 finishes at the Games.

The Canoe and Kayak teams also had a strong showing in the water.

In the Female Mountain Biking Relay, Team Yukon, consisting of the Roldan sisters, Mara and Mathilde, finished seventh.

Mara Roldan finished eighth in the Road Race.

4) Gavin McKenna first Yukoner selected first overall in WHL draft

Gavin McKenna became the first Yukoner chosen first overall in the WHL draft. McKenna was taken by the Medicine Hat Tigers. McKenna, then 14, qualified for exceptional status with the league. He previously played with the RHA Kelowna U18 Prep program in the Canadian Sport School U18P league, leading the league in scoring with 65 points (23G, 42A). McKenna said it was pretty amazing to be the first Yukoner to go first overall in the WHL draft.

“It’s awesome. I hope it brings more attention to the game in Whitehorse, get more little kids playing ... it’s an honour coming from such a small town.”

He attributed his selection to special skills that captured the Tigers’ attention.

“My playmaking and my skill set; my ability to see the ice and make plays at a fast speed, play at a high speed.”

The budding superstar made a memorable WHL debut Sept. 24 in a 9-1 triumph over Lethbridge. He notched four assists and was named the game’s First Star. He also finished +2 on the night while leading his team in points.

It was awesome,” McKenna said. “Unreal experience. From the crowd to just the game itself, it was amazing.

“Obviously a pretty successful night and I got to see my family as well, so it was definitely awesome for sure.”

McKenna is splitting time between the Tigers and the South Alberta Hockey Academy SAHA) in Medicine Hat.

He has six assists in eight games with the Tigers and is leading the SAHA with 20 goals and 21 assists in only 16 games.

5) Graham Nishikawa helps guide Brian Mckeever as he sweeps Cross Country gold medals at Paralympics in Beijing

Nishikawa guided Paralympic cross-country skiing legend Brian McKeever to a gold medal in the men’s visually impaired 12.5-kilometre skate-ski race in Beijing, the final race for the longtime friends. “We’ve had such a long journey together, so it was really special to be able to do it one more time and I just wanted to make sure we had a good race today,” related Nishikawa.

It was McKeever’s third gold medal at the Beijing Games and his 20th Paralympic medal overall, including 16 gold medals. McKeever won three gold at the Beijing Games with Nishikawa and his other guide, Russell Kennedy.

Nishikawa is now a full-time coach with the Canadian Para-Nordic team.

6) Dahria Beatty achieves personal best at 2022 Winter Olympics

Beatty notched personal bests at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, including 18th place in the 10 km classic.

“That was a really big highlight for me. I was really happy with that performance.”

She combined with three teammates to finish 9th in the Women’s 4x5 km Relay Feb. 12.

“We had the best team relay results since 2002 for Canadian women … there was lots of really positive racing and good results and so I was overall really happy, really satisfied with my Games,” Beatty added.

Beatty was also one of the winners of the Premier’s Award of Sport Excellence.

“They sent me a message during the Games,” said Beatty on March 1 from Oslo, Norway, where she was competing in a classic city sprint at the time.

“It’s always an honour to be recognized. My parents will be keeping that safe for me until I get home.”

At the Canadian Nationals in Whistler, B.C. later in March, Beatty finished second in the gruelling Open Women 45 km marathon.

Beatty and Sonjaa Schmidt teamed up to win gold in the Women’s Team Sprint after finishing second in the overall category.

“It was awesome today,” said Beatty after the race. “Sonjaa has been skiing so well all year, so I was happy to do the team sprint with her. She set the tone in the first leg giving her all and handed off to me in good position, so I went out hard in my leg too,” said Beatty. “The last corner the whole crowd was cheering my name, so it was extra motivation to push. I was happy to ski strong and be the top Canadian team.”

Beatty was also named Sport Yukon’s International Female Athlete of the Year for 2021 in April.

7) Jessica Frotten captures four gold medals at Nationals

Whitehorse’s beloved Paralympic athlete scorched the track at the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships at Langley, B.C. in June.

She won the 100, 400, 800 and 1500 Metre Dash Para Wheelchair races, edging out Nandini Sharma each time.

“It’s awesome,” said Frotten. “Not all the competitors were there. There was a few that were sick or whatever so not all the fields were full but it was still some good competition.”

Despite Sharma being her main competition, Frotten said they don’t really have a rivalry.

“Oh, no, we’re besties. I’m a T53 class and she’s a T54 class, so she’ll always have more function than me and my racer, for sure.”

Frotten wasn’t sure if her four gold medals were a first or not.

“I don’t know if it’s ever been done before. I know Alex (Dupont), on the male side, he won all his events as well.

“We haven’t had nationals in two years now because of COVID and everything and it was just so great to be out there, back on the track and seeing a lot of faces I haven’t seen in a whole long time.

“The track was slow. It was a brand-new track, so it was quite squishy, so the times weren’t super fast but I really feel like I put together some great races.”

The amazing athlete qualified for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England in late July/early August. Sharma got a measure of revenge on Beatty by finishing one spot ahead of her in the Women’s 1500 metre final to finish in seventh place.

8) Yukoners have very successful 55+ Games in Kamloops

Yukoners won 74 medals at the 55+ Games in Kamloops, including 20 gold, 30 silver and 24 bronze.

The medal haul included a record 36 track medals. Dave Boschman and Hank Leenders each were awarded two medals in the 80+ category in track, while Sheila Senger won silver in the 75+ category.

Tim McLachlan and John Hadvick swept the darts event with three gold and a silver.

A Duplicate Bridge medal was a first with team of Stan Marinoske and Bruce Beaton scoring a silver.

The Swimming team raced to 15 medals, including Vickie Roche’s two gold, one silver and one bronze. Paul Warner earned two bronze in the pool as part of a strong Yukon contingent led by the ladies. Warner said the women deserved the accolades, though.

“They were the core of the team. They did incredible. Two of them won four medals, so they won medals in every race.”

The cycling was dominated by Doug MacLean in the 70+ category and Jim Newnham in the 80+ category, with Maclean being awarded a bronze, silver and gold and Newnham winning two gold, with both awarded gold in the demonstration hill climb.

The floor shuffleboard teams in the 55+ category took home a gold and silver while the 70+ team was awarded the silver.

Also of note, the Softball team won it’s first-ever non-forfeit game.

The Kamloops Games were also a family affair for the Yukon.

Melanie and Darrell Peters and Melanie’s mom Sherry all participated in 5-pin bowling. In addition to a bronze medal in singles, Darrell received an honorary gold for exceptional sporting behaviour.

“It was really cool,” said Darrell. “I’ve won a lot of things in my life – a lot – and this was by far the best.”

“Doing it with Sherry, too, having the mother-in-law there, was pretty awesome ... we called ourselves The Three Amigos,” added Peters.

Dave and Irene Brekke and their daughter Alison Grove all participated in dragon boat.

“Irene and I rowed but Alison was the drummer, sitting on the front there,” recalled Dave Brekke.

“That was so, so fun,” added Grove.

The evenings saw the now-legendary kitchen parties break out with great music and singing from all who attended.

“There was so much feeling of community there,” said Dave Brekke. “That’s what really stood out for me. We’re from all over, from different backgrounds but there was such an acceptance and respect for everybody.

“I’ve been to several of them and they’ve all had a similar community spirit.”

The chair of the Yukon Organizing Committee, Brenda Dion, added “They were fabulous and what made them so fabulous I think is the camaraderie, the spirit, the enthusiasm, first of Team Yukon – which is always so evident at the Games – and then of course from the other contingents too, in some of the events that I was able to get to and participate in. Just to see how the contingents were always so warm and welcoming and the host was welcoming, so it was really fun.”

9) Emmet Kapaniuk wins bronze in first international archery event

Emmett Kapaniuk, 16, of Whitehorse won a bronze medal in the U18 Mixed Team event at the Halifax 2022 Youth & Masters Pan Am Championships in June.

“I was excited,” recalled Kapaniuk. “We should have been in the gold medal match but one of my teammate’s arrows broke on her in mid-flight so she ended up shooting a miss but if that hit the target, even for a five points, we would have been in the gold medal match, so that was a little bit of a bummer but all out of our control.”

Kapaniuk’s teammate was Bailey Mathers of Manitoba. They lost the match to the U.S. by a narrow margin. Since there were only three teams in the event, the young Canucks took the bronze.

Kapaniuk was also in the U18 Men’s Compound event.

“I was in that and then the U18 Mixed team and also there wasn’t enough teams to do the normal team event, so they did an exhibition of Canada versus the U.S, so I also shot in that too.”

The U18 Men’s Compound Cadet event was a little bittersweet for Kapaniuk.

“I ended up getting beat out by my teammate in the quarter round. It wasn’t bad or anything. I’m happy I lost to my teammate and not someone else.”

Kapaniuk lost to Keegan Crawford of Covehead, P.E.I. 134-127.

“It was a great experience,” said Kapaniuk.

“I met so many archers I’ve looked up to in the older groups; I was able to meet quite a few of them, so that was pretty awesome to finally be able to meet and shoot with all those guys. It was just overall (a) good experience and although some things didn’t quite go my way, those are things we can work on for my next international event I’ll be trying out for.”

Kapaniuk also finished 2nd in the Male Cadet Compound bow Archery Canada Indoor Nationals at Takhini Elementary school in Whitehorse in March.

The up and coming archer was named as the first recipient of the Northern LYTES Youth Development fund in August.

10) Jaymi Hinchey wins first-ever Yukon medal at Elite Canadian Judo Championships

Last but not least, Jaymi Hinchey of Whitehorse won the Yukon’s first medal ever in the Elite Canadian Judo Championships.

Hinchey competed in the -52 kg category at the “Elite Eight” tourney at Edmonton in December recently.

“It’s really exciting. And unexpected. I wasn’t expecting to do that well and I was really proud about it,” said Hinchey.

Hinchey’s father was also in the stands.

“It was nice that he was there. It was nice to have some more people cheering,” said Hinchey.

Two other girls, Hinchey’s sister Lia and Leah McLean, also participated in the Elite Eight event.

According to coach Aaron Jensen, that also was a first for the Yukon. Lia Hinchey competed in the -57 kg category and McLean in the -63 kg category. Although neither girl won a bout, they gave a good account of themselves.

In addition, Jaymi Hinchey earned gold in the U16 -57 kg division at the 2022 Youth Provincial Championships in West Shore, B.C. in March, going undefeated in the process.

Jaymi Hinchey and Leah McLean also competed in the 2022 Niagara Summer Games in August in wrestling. They tied Nunavut 5-5 in the 11th/12th Place match and finished 12th overall.

Hinchey finished sixth in the up to 56 kg Female category as well.